Show Depressive Widespread- Depression or depressive is a very widespread disorder-or group of illnesses-just about everyone BUT THERE are ways in which patients suffering from this affliction can be For it has frequently been observed by clinical psychiatrists and psychologists that patients suffering depressive illness are helped by successful experiences in a variety of kinds of A TANGIBLE demonstration to a depressed patient that he can successfully attain a stated goal can lessen his improve his and enhance Research scientists have been exploring this in a study in Pennsylvania by a grant from the National Institute of Mental THE THEORY tested was that the depressed patient is so sensitive to positive or negative information about himself that a minor success or failure even on a seemingly irrelevant task would affect his and The developed the study with the cooperation of male patients at two Philadelphia psychiatric outpatient using both depressed and non-depressed THE depressed patients were more pessimistic from the outset about doing well on an experimental task of sorting out some When asked how they had the depressed gave lower ratings to their own performance than did the non-depressed The researchers that the actual output of the depressed groups was just as A more difficult card-sorting task was Some depressed patients who had succeeded on the first test were told of their Others were not but continued to think that they had On the second those who had been told of their success showed more had higher and gave a better performance than did those who thought that they had THE scientists concluded that favorable information about suc experience not only improves the depressed patient's outlook and level of but also can increase his |